Elevator safety-gate.



No'. 663,228.' Patented nec. 4, |900. s. T. HlTz a G. H; BLAKEn.

ELEvAon SAFETY GATE. (Appliition4 led Jun 22, 1960.)

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No. 663,228. Patented nec. 4. |900. s. T. H|Tz & apn. BLAKER.

ELEVATDR SAFETY GATE. (Application med rune- 22, i900.) (nu Modal.) y 3sheets-sheetv 3 WINE SES, n JNI/ENTORS M l BY AHORA/EY.

UNITED STATES PATENT Eric?- STEPHEN T. I-llTZ AND GILBERT H. BLAKER, OFINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA; SAID BLAKER ASSIGNOR TO SAID HITZ.

ELEVATOR SAFETY-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,228, dated December4, 1900.

Application filed June 22, 1900- Serial No. 21,161. (No model.)l

To ULZZ whom t may concern;

Be it known that we, STEPHEN T. HITZ and GILBERT H. BLAKER, ofIndianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented acertain new and useful Elevator Safety- Gate; and we do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

thereof, reference being had to the accompa nying drawings, in whichlike numerals refer to like parts.

The object of this invention is to provide an elevator-gate that willnot cause a persons head to be caught between it and the descendingelevator-car and which when opened or moved out of the Way by theelevator-car will in no wise be an obstruction or be in a position toobstruct the entrance to the elevator-car either above or below or in aposition to interfere with the placing of articles, machinery, &c.,upon, or the removal of them from, the elevator-car.

The chief feature of this invention to bring about the above object is anovel construction of gate that renders it downwardly collapsible. Thepreferable form is a telescopic connection between the bars of the gate,whereby the gate can be pressed downward into small space. The advantageof this construction of gate is that when one is leaning over the upperbar of the gate and the elevator-car is descending withouthis knowledgeand comes in contact with his head or back the gate will readily yielddownward and permit his escape. From a rigid gate it is obvious he couldnot escape destruction.

The second feature of the invention cousists in novel means whereby theelevatorcar can depress the gate or open it whether moving up or down;also, novel means for preventing the closing of the gate faster than themovement of the elevator-car and which requires the gate to close asfast as the elevator-car moves away; also, novel means for moving theelevator-car past the gate without operating it.

The full nature of our invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the description following of one form ofdevice embodying said invention, and the scope of our invention will beun- .side of the shaft.

derstood from the claims following said description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of one endof the gate and parts connected with it. Fig. 2 is a central verticalsection of the shaft, elevator-car, and gate, showing two floors andgates with the parts in operative condition. Fig. 3 is the same with theparts inoperative. Fig. -LL is a plan of one end of the top bar of thegate and a crosssection of the guide-bar at the end of the gate. Fig. 5is a sideelevationof a portion of one of the elevator'guides at the Fig.6 shows a modified mounting of the gate. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectionshowing the modified form with the gate depressed.

Referring now to the details of construction of the form of inventionshown herein to i illustrate the same, lis the iioor of the building inwhich the elevator is mounted, and 2 the side of the shaft. There aretwo floors shown.

3 is the vertical guide-piece secured to the side of the shaft forguiding the movement of the elevator-car.

The elevator-car consists of the ioor 4, the vertical side bars 5, thetop cross-beam 6, and the braces 7.

8 is the cable, whereby the elevator-car is suspended and elevated.

On one side of the elevator-shaft where it is desired to locate the gatea pair of vertical U-shaped guides l0 are placed vertically against theside 2 of the shaft and against the side of the floor. They extend fromthe bottom of the floor for a reasonable distance above the same,substantially as shown. In these guides the gate verticallyreciprocates. The gate consists of horizontal bars 1l, those shown herebeing U-shaped in cross-section. While four of these bars are shown, anynumber may be used. These bars are connected at each end by telescopingtubes 12. The lower tube 12 extends loosely through the lower bar 1l andis secured to the bar above and has a cap 13 on it,with an openingthrough it of smaller diameter than the opening through the tube. Acollar 45, secured to the lowerend of thelower tube, supports the lowerIOO the lever 20 as the elevator-car moves up and bar. A similar tubeextends through the cap 13 into the lower tube and has a head on itslower end to prevent its escape and extends loosely through the openingin the bar above, where a similar construction is found. A tube or, ashere shown, a bar forming the upper end of the telescoping connectionextends loosely into the tube below it and is secured to the top bar 1l.It is obvious that these bars can collapse by moving the top onedownward, so that one bar will rest upon the other and the telescopingtubes will telescope into each other, putting the gate into the positionshown in the lower part of Fig. 2 collapsed. To receive the gate w'henit is collapsed, a stationary bar is secured to the floor. As hereshown, it. forms a metal edge for the iioor flush with the top thereofand next to the elevator-shaftand also hasa bottom crosspiece 15,against which the bars 1l are depressed.

The gate is held closed orwith the slats in their uppermost position bythe weights 16, secured to the ends of the cords 17, that extend overthe pulleys 18 and are connected with the top bar. A stop 19 is providedin the guide 1() to limit the upward movement of the top b'ar of thegate, and gravity holds the other barsin the lowermost position, suchposition being limited by the length of themembers of the telescopingconnection 12.

The gate is depressed oropen ed by the lever 20, that extends throughthe slot 21 in the guide-piece 3, as shown in Fig. 5, and is pivotedtherein by the bolt 22. At one end such lever is pivotally connected bythe link 23 with the top bar 11 of the gate. The lever has aninwardly-extending pin 24. When the inner end of said lever is elevatedor the pin 24 is depressed, the hars of the gate will be thrown downagainst the a'ction of the weight 16 into the collapsed position shownin the lower end of Fig. 2. The lever 2O is actuated by the segments 25,pivoted at 26 to the two ends of the bar 27, that is centrally pivotedat28 to one of lthe side bars 5 of the elevator-car. The curved surface ofthe rear Segment 25 extends downward and that of the front segmentupward. Stops 29 are secured to the ends of the lever 27 to stop themovement of the segments 25 or hold them in position under strain. Thelength and position of the bar 27 and position'of the segments 25 aresuch as to enable the horizontal legs of the inner segment 25 oroutwardly-extending corner thereof to engage the inner end of the lever20 and the oth-er segment 25 to similarly engage the pin 2-4 on down.The forward segmentl 25 is provided with the weight 30 to hold it inproper norm-al position against its stop 29 when not doing work.

The gates in normal position (open) hold the levers 2O in the positionshown in Fig.3 and the upper part of Fig. 2. Assuming the elevator-carto be moving upward, as is the ees/22e case in Fig. 2, the corner1 ofthe-innersegment 25 on the bar 27 will engage the inner end of the lever20, and as the elevator-car moves up farther will through said leverforce the gate down into the position shown at the lower end of Fig. 2;but when the gate is wholly collapsed and the elevator-car continues tomove the inner segment 25 passes the inner end of the lever 20 orescapes therefrom. At the same time the pin 24 on the lever 20 escapesbelow the outer segment 25. Then as the elevator-car continues to moveupward the weights 16 tend to elevate the gate-bars and close the gate.Such upward movement of the gate is held in check by the outer segment25 actingon the pin 24, as will appear from the consideration of thelower part of Fig. 2 and assuming that the elevator-car has moved upsomewhat from the position there shown. After the pin 24 passes theouter segment 25 the upward movement of the gate pushes the pin againstthe under side of said segment, and that segment acting on said pinprevents. the lever 2O returning to its normal position any faster thanthe upward movement of the gate of the elevator will permit. As theelevator-car passes entirelyv above the gate when itis closed or in itselevated position the lever 20 becomes wholly disengaged from thesegments and assumes the position shown in Fig. 3. As the elevator-carpasses through the. second floor the operation will be repeated.Assuming that the elevator-car is moving downward, the outward segmenton its under side engages the pin 24 on the lever 20 and de presses theouter end of said lever and through it the gate-bars into the collapsedor open position, and as@ the elevator-car is ready to pass or is justpassing the door-line the pin 24 escapes from the outer segment 25, andthe inner end of the lever 2O passes above the inner segi ment 25 intothe position shown at. the lower part of Fig. 2. Then as theelevator-car con- 1 tinues to go, down the inner segment 25 acting lagainstthe inner end of the lever 2O will prevent the gate from beingelevated or closed 1faster 'that the elevatorcar moves down.

This mechanism prevents the sudden closing In order that the segments 25may be properly positioned to engage the gate-lever 20, l we providemeans for adjusting the position of the bar 27, so as to bring saidsegments into the actuating position or, if desired, to move them out ofactuating position. As shown in the lower part of Fig. 2, a hand-lever35 is at one end pivoted to the side bar 5 of the elevator-car at 36 andextends through a notched IOR segment 37 and is provided with the usualpawl mechanism 38 for setting the lever in anydesired position. Saidleveris connected by the link 39 with the bar 27. When the lever isdepressed, the bar 27 is thrown into a horizontal position, as shown inFig. 3. Then the segments are so far apart that they fail to engage thelever 2O or pin 24, as shown in Fig. 3 by the vertically-dotted lines.Thus by operating this hand-lever the bars will be in position so thatthe elevatoncar will pass the gates without opening them.

From the foregoing description itI is observed that when the gate isopen it is depressed into a pocket in the floor beside the gate, withthe top of the gate flush with the floor, and therefore entirely out ofthe way, with all the space between the door and the one above it freeand open. Likewise when the gate is thus depressed the top bar willbridge the space between the elevator-door and main loor for conveniencein the pushing of trucks. Furthermore, many of the dangers attendingother kinds of elevators are avoided.

The modified form shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that shown in the otherfigures except that the guide-bars l0 are pivoted at the lower ends bythe bolts 40 to the floor of the building at a point suliciently belowthe top of the iloor to enable the gate when depressed to lie below thetop of the oor of the building. At the top of the floor. of thebuildingalip 4l or extension of the oor extends into the elevator-shaftas far as possible without coming into contact with the elevator-car inits pas sage. The gate, link 23, and lever 20 are the same as in theother form. In this modified form as the outer end of the lever 20 isdepressed the end of the link 23 attached to the gate will extend inwardand swing the gate and pivoted guide-bars into the position shown bydotted lines in Fig. 6, so that as the gate is pressed down it willescape the end of the extension 4l and the guide-bars and the gate begradually pushed back into vertical position out of the path ot' theelevator-car. In this way the space between the main body of the oor ofthe building and the floor of the elevator-car can be bridged and thegate side-tracked or switched about it in the upand-down movement. Theseguide-bars l0 are at each side of the door of the elevator-car,so itpasses between them without engaging them. The gate is moved into thepath of the elevator-car door and back again in advance of thecar-floor, as the collapsing or movement of the gate by reason of thefulcrumng of the lever 2O is more rapid than the movement of thecar-floor.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

l. An elevator safety-gate consisting of bars downwardly collapsible,and means acting on the top bar for collapsing the gate.

2. An elevator safety-gate consisting of bars downwardly` collapsible,and means actuated by the elevator-car for opening said gate.

3. An elevator safety -gate consisting of bars downwardly collapsible, ayielding means for closing the gate, and means actuated by theelevator-car for depressing the bars of the gate to open the same.

4. An elevator safety-gate consisting of bars downwardly collapsible,means for receiving the bars of the gate when depressed and holding thetop bar thereof ush with the floor, and means for opening and closingsaid gate.

5. An elevator safetygate consisting of bars downwardly collapsible,vertical guidebars at. each end of the gate for guiding the ends of thegate-bars, a yielding means acting on the top bar for elevating thegate, and a stop secured to the guide-bars for limiting the movement ofthe top bar of the gate.

6. An elevator safety-gate consisting of downwardly collapsible bars, ayielding means for elevating the bars of the gate, and means forcontrolling the rapidity of the closing movement of the gate by themovement of the elevator-car.

7. An elevator safety-gate consisting of downwardly collapsible bars, ayielding means for holding them in the upper position, a lever pivotallyconnected with the top bar of the gate, and means on the elevator-carfor actuating said lever for depressing and opening the gate.

8. An elevator safety-gate consisting of downwardly depressible bars, ayielding means for holding them in the upperposition, a lever linkedwith the top bar of the gate and fulcrumed between its ends, means onthe elevator-car for engaging and actuating one arm of said lever as theelevator-car moves in one direction, and means on the elevatorcar forengaging and actuating the other end of the lever as the elevator-carmoves in the other direction, whereby the gate may be opened as theelevator-car ascends or descends.

9. An elevator safety-gate consisting of downwardly -depressible bars, ayielding means for holding them in their upper position, a lever linkedat one end with the top bar of the gate and fulcrumed between its ends,a pin on the lever between its fulcrum and pivoted end, a bar secured tothe elevatorcar, tripsegments pivoted to the ends of said bar one ofwhich will engage the end of said lever as the elevator-car moves in onedirection and the other one will engage said pin as the elevator-carmoves in the other direction.

l0. An elevator safety-gate consisting of downwardly depressible bars, ayielding means for holding them in their upper psition, a lever linkedat one end with the top bar of the gate and fulcrumed between its ends,a pin on the lever between its fulcrum and pvoted end, a, bai' securedto the eleva- .torea.r, trip-segments pivoted to the ends of said barone of Whieh'will engage the end of said lever as the elevator-car movesin one direction and the other one Will engage said pin as theelevator-ear moves in the other direetion, and means for adjusting theposition of said bar, Wherebr said segments Will properly engage andaetuate said lever or not en gage said lever as desired, and after onesegment has actuated the lever, the other seg mentrWill resist thereturn movement of said lever.

In Witness whereof We have hereunto affixed our signatures in thepresence of the 15 Witnesses herein named.

STEPHEN T. HITZ. GILBERT H. BLAKER.

Witnesses V. H. LooKWooD, M. C. BUCK.

